SDSU football

With the departure of two standout starters to the NFL, the San Diego State receiving corps already appeared to be the biggest question mark on the team for 2011.

Now this:

SDSU’s most experienced returning receiver, junior Dominique Sandifer, has been ruled out for the coming season with a knee injury suffered during offseason drills. Redshirt freshman receiver Jay Waddell also hurt his knee in the offseason and will be out for the year.

Looking at the bright side of it, head coach Rocky Long said, “We don’t see it as a big blow because we had inexperienced receivers anyway.”

“They were all going to be given a chance in the fall,” Long said. “The ones that played the best were going to get a chance to play. I don’t think situation has changed dramatically whatsoever.”

Sandifer’s absence means SDSU’s most experienced receiver in terms of catches is walk-on sophomore Dylan Denso, who caught four passes last season. The good news for SDSU is that Denso came on strong during spring drills and positioned himself for a breakout role in 2011.

The not-so-good news is that 65 percent of SDSU’s 244 catches last year came from Sandifer (23), and departed stars Vincent Brown (69) and DeMarco Sampson (67), both of whom were drafted into the NFL in April. The rest of the pass-catching workload in 2010 was shouldered by running backs and tight ends.

To continue the success of last year, when SDSU ranked 12th nationally in passing offense, Long said that his receivers would have to grow up quickly. Three freshman receivers signed in February “will get more looks in fall than they probably would have,” Long said.

Freshman signee Anthony Sheffield, a wide receiver from Los Angeles, also likely won’t join the team this year. Long also said two or three freshman are in summer school hoping to become eligible for 2011.